Marta's Mathoms

The National Cathedral invited some Muslims to have a prayer service yesterday in their sanctuary. Initially I was a little uncomfortable because (a) while I respect Muslims and certainly believe they have every right to express and practice their faith in the public square, I do believe they worship a different God than I do; and (b) to my mind a church's --any Christian church's-- sanctuary is consecrated space set apart to the Christian God. That meant inviting people to worship someone else did seem wrong to me, at first. It was something I needed to think about.

When I did that, though, I realized that the National Cathedral isn't a church like my neighborhood church, it's more a space for all Americans who want to act spiritually to come together (and as American faithful, not as Christians or Jews or whatever else). The Episcopalian Church has decided they can administer such a space, but its purpose has to be more universal than a church built just for Episcopals would be, by its very nature. Squaring that with their theology is their job; celebrating the message yesterday's service sent about Muslims being fully American and fully Muslim all at once is mine.

If you want to read more: http://www.fidesquaerens.org/blog/?p=2938